


Sayo

by Len_kun121958



Category: Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga)
Genre: AU, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Minor Character Death, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-07-10 15:21:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 21,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19907893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Len_kun121958/pseuds/Len_kun121958
Summary: Kiryuu Zero has next to no positive relationships with anyone in the A class of Cross Academy, but a new person to the dorms and an unexpected friend could change that forever. Will relationships bloom or will everything burn to ashes in the end?





	1. Sayo: Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Hello, I decided after a long debate with myself that I should post this fic on here, it is not a ZeroxOC story even though it may sound like it at first. This is a KainxZero story that just happens to have an OC but I promise she doesn't overshadow the characters or get in the way too much. This isn't my best quality work (I published this years ago on ffnet) so if it's really hated within the first couple chapters I will take it down and not feel too hurt. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy or at least tolerate it until it becomes decent. Thanks! ~Len

Sayo

*Prologue*

Kiryuu Zero, a most famous model in the world, lived an eventful life. He lost both his parents due to an attack on the family a few years prior along with his younger twin brother Kiryuu Ichiru. He was taken in by the head of CMC, or Cross Modeling Cooperation, Kaien Cross who had a daughter a year younger than him named Yuuki. She was a kindhearted person who only wished to care for the boy who had lost everything, however no matter what she did or said it was nearly impossible to break down Zero's emotional walls that had been placed even in such a short amount of time. Kaien also ran an academy that was split into class ranks, there were the top students in the rank A class and the next in the rank B class and so on and so forth, the academy was for high school and so while Zero still lived with Kaien and Yuuki he attended a boarding school that was a few hours away. Kaien was worried about sending Zero off to the boarding school but after learning that Zero's childhood friend would be attending there and he would have a teacher both he and Kaien knew well, he was hopeful that Zero would have a better time there than with just him and Yuuki.

Over the holidays Zero would return to Kaien and an eager Yuuki, who wished for him to tell her everything about his studies at a school that you lived at with other students, accompanied by his teacher Touga Yagari and friend Takamiya Kaito. They learned quickly that Zero was very studious, he got amazing grades that even surpassed some of the elite high school students Kaien had at the academy. His social side on the other hand was lacking far behind anyone at his age, he even didn't try to make friends according to Kaito, he hardly spoke to anyone unless forced or it was someone he trusted well. He had no desire to interact with other children, he didn't want to play at parks but rather walk by them staring at things only he saw. Kaito was one of two who could get Zero to show his more childish side, the other one was no longer with them and everyone knew that had the biggest impact on the boy. Ichiru was the most important person in Zero's eyes when he was younger, and the thought that he couldn't protect his own little brother killed him mentally more than anything else. Because of this, there were many worries about his emotional state by everyone around him. Though he acted as though he was fine and just not talkative or very emotional, there were times when they were able to see an unguarded Zero and when they did they saw just how broken into pieces the boy really was. Even in those times Yagari claimed he was probably holding back so they couldn't see all of his raw emotions so easily.

At the end of his last year in middle school, Zero decided to run off and go to a summer of martial arts and other defense specialties school in Kyoto. He learned quickly and finished early having perfected not only the skills but also the demeanor of someone who could kill without second thought. Lilac eyes that used to give tender and caring looks, his careful and yet determined attitude had turned into icy glares at anyone and everyone he crossed paths with. He would sooner shoot you then talk and he no longer wished to be around anyone that wasn't a target he could fire at. Firearms were Zero's preferred weapons, although really anything he could aim and shoot to some degree worked fine for him, he fought many times with just using his fists as well which became his secondary. When he came back from that trip with such a hardened and dominating aura, both Kaien and Yuuki took a step back to simply watch how he acted before even trying to speak with him less they get killed or wounded in the act. It took the two of them a long time to regain any kind of relationship with the former gentile boy. Yagari had stopped by to see Zero after he returned and was taken back at how quickly his own sarcastic and smart ass responses were shot back at him with slight malice and even sadistic tones and looks. Kaito only messed with Zero once in a play fight before he decided it wasn't something he was going to do again, though Zero was younger, the other packed quite a punch and it stung for weeks.

By the time he entered Cross Academy with Yuuki, because Kaien decided he needed to keep an eye on both of them for safety measures, Zero already had a reputation of someone you don't get on the wrong side of. Other students would run or simply try to avoid him at all costs whenever in school. Though Zero didn't mind the outcome, he didn't want others flocking around him and he wasn't even questioned by the teachers when he came in late. He had everyone running from him and leaving him in peace, exactly where he wanted to be, well all except three that was. Those three were Yuuki, Kaien and the top student at Cross Academy, Kuran Kaname. He was the most idled out of everyone there, he was in the A rank class as was Zero and a few others that he didn't care to bother with. Unlike everyone else, Zero despised Kuran Kaname with a passion. He would ignore him, talk back, deliberately piss the other off, he stood his ground well every time they had to see each other. Zero would glare Kaname to hell if he could and the other was sure that if looks really could kill he would be dead; many, many, many times over. The others in the A rank class all followed Kaname like dogs on a leash, and thus didn't care for Zero every time he was in the same room because his lack of respect towards someone older and higher than his own level. Zero couldn't give less of a damn what they thought and said about him, as long as he never let his guard down and never submitted to anyone he would be fine and would be able to peacefully execute his plan of ending his life before he graduated in order to be with his family again. That wish of his however, changed drastically one fateful night. That night brought in someone new, someone who would change Zero's cold heart and give everyone a view they never thought they would ever see in their lifetime. That person, just happened to be named Kiriko Sayo.


	2. Unexpected Occurence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fic actually begins, Sayo is introduced to the night class and there is some shared thoughts on Zero from the A class members to establish the current beginning relationships.

Unexpected Occurrence 

"Kiryuu-kun, class is starting soon and I suggest you start getting ready unless you want to miss it." Came the deep smooth voice of Kuran Kaname as he stood outside the dorm room of another student at Cross Academy in the moon dorms which he was the president of. When he didn't receive an answer he knocked again and called for the other student. Upon receiving no answer for the second time, Kaname decided to just open the door and face the normally pissed off teen. As soon as he got inside the room however he quickly learned that the student was no longer inside the room, the open window gave a clue to how he left. 'Tsk, again he leaves without consulting anyone. Someone should put that kid on a leash.' The dorm leader thought before leaving once again abruptly.

"Kaname-sama, is something wrong?" Aido Hanabusa asked, he was one of the most loyal followers of Kaname but he was also the most reckless and brash of the A class students.

"It seems that Zero has left the dorms, again, without consulting anyone that is all; no new matter." Kaname replied with an undertone of annoyance. Aido snorted and crossed his arms.

"You should let him fail then, it's not like he even belongs here Kaname-sama." The blonde replied as he looked out the window.

"Are you talking about Kiryuu again?" Came a new voice before one of the other A class members walked up to the two. Rose-colored eyes narrowed dangerously as the girl spoke. "He's not worth the attention or privilege that anyone gives him." She said flipping long waved hair over he shoulder. Kaname mentally sighed, true he was not friends with the main topic of their conversation but he at least knew how to be civil.

"Give the kid a break Ruka and you too Aido, it's not like he has it too easy. With you two pissing him off and disregarding his existence to his face all the time. I would avoid it or fight back too." A deeper and more relaxed voice came from the window cill where a tall fire-haired male stood looking out the window.

"I don't understand how you can be that oblivious Kain, he's rude to everyone he comes across and I'm pretty sure if it wasn't against the law over half of us at this school would be dead already." Ruka protested with annoyance. Kain rolled his eyes at her and sighed.

"He's not rude to those who give him a chance, Shiki and Takuma get along with him just fine. He doesn't have a problem with me either, it's really just you two, Kaname-sama and partially Rima." Kain explained with a shrug before he looked at the doorway to the living room where Takuma Ichijo now stood with a gentile smile.

"Though I admit he does have some problems it seems, I think that mostly relates to his past. Kids aren't just born like how he acts after all, I wonder what happened..." The green-eyed noble said aloud though in a quiet and gentile voice.

"It doesn't mean he has to want to kill everyone that comes within fifteen feet of him though." Another voice chimed in belonging to a short orange-haired girl that was finishing putting her hair into braids. Ruka nodded at the girl and turned back to Kaname.

"If you ask me, he shouldn't be in our dorms anyway. Is he even among our ranking or is he just cheating his way to the top?" She asked making Kaname once again mentally groan.

"Let's drop this topic before he comes back from wherever he is and get to class. Sooner or later he will come." The chocolate eyed male announced before opening the door of the moon dorms revealing large gates that would open to the path to the school building.

"Of course Kaname-sama." Everyone chorused and bowed to the eldest of the group before forming a line behind him.

As Kaname walked down the path with everyone behind him, they saw Zero standing by the entrance to the school with another person at his side. She seemed happy to be there by the way she kept looking up at the boy next to her though he didn't pay her much attention in return. As Kaname got closer he didn't see the glare he was expecting from the other, witch shocked and concerned him. "Kiryuu-kun, pleasure to see you ready for class, and who might this be?" Kaname asked looking the girl up and down, almost pale soft skin and crystal blue eyes looked back at him with hesitation as the girl attempted to hide behind Zero a little more. Zero looked back at her and stepped away as to put her in clear view for the others. Auburn hair was largely curled into pigtails with tray bangs falling in her blush covered face. Though dressed in the academy A class uniform, which was white with black edging and details, a white cloth necklace with a glittering tan stone took the place of a tie. She only stood in the light for a few moments before hiding once again behind Zero with near tears in her eyes from embarrassment, Kaname almost felt bad for calling her out by the way she buried her face in Zero's sleeve. Zero didn't seem bothered by it too much and ignored her for the most part which was surprising but not unpleasant compared to his usual behavior.

"This is Kiriko Sayo, a transfer student from abroad, she'll be attending Cross from here on out since her family just moved here and she's been placed in our class. Sayo this is the A class, Kuran Kaname, Ichijo Takuma, Senri Shiki, Akatsuki Kain, Souen Ruka, Toya Rima, Seiren, and Hanabusa Aido. They'll be your class and dorm mates." Zero introduced everyone, each of the students giving a wave, smile or nod when their name was called. When he finished Sayo nodded to them in a silent response.

"I assume you'll be joining us for class then, that's rare for you." Kaname teased looking at Zero with an ever infuriating smirk that only said teen could rival.

"Actually I won't be, I have a job to do that can't be kept waiting, speaking of I will take my leave now." Zero replied giving a backhanded wave to his classmates before walking off. Once Sayo realized he would be leaving her with the others she panicked. Tears gathered in her eyes and she curled herself into a ball on the ground as to hid herself in the Earth. Kaname looked at Takuma, who seemed to know what to do usually when it came to emotions since that was the one thing Kaname was not practiced at. Takuma gingerly walked over to the younger, he assumed, girl and kneeled down.

"May I ask what is upsetting you, Kiriko-chan?" He asked softly however was getting nowhere with gentile antics as the girl curled herself more if possible. Takuma stood up and looked at Kaname and shrugged. "I'll go get Kiryuu-kun then?" He asked running out of options and knowing that the girl was calmer when the temperamental boy was around.

"He'll probably just ignore her, or get mad at her or something." Ruka snorted but Kaname nodded regardless to Takuma since he was clueless on what to do as well.

"Everyone else go to class, Senri and Akatsuki will stay here with Sayo until Takuma returns." He decided knowing that the two other boys would be much more helpful than anyone else. Said two nodded and stepped out of line while everyone else proceeded to class. "I'll make sure the...four of you are excused." He added as the doors to the school were opened for him. "Of course, Kaname-sama, thank you." The two chorused and bowed before returning their attention to Sayo.

'I hope Takuma hurries, it's going to be troublesome if this happens every time Zero leaves.' Shiki thought to himself as he leaned against the building looking out for his friend to come back with the other.

"Sayo," Came Zero's voice a few minutes later with Takuma by his side looking slightly out of breath. "At least sit up for me Sayo." Zero requested after he nodded to the other two standing by the girl, they nodded back and watched as Zero kneed down beside Sayo as Takuma had done earlier.

"Zero, don't leave." She whispered as she cried harder and wrapped her arms around the other's waist. Zero sighed and picked her up in a bridal hold letting the girl cry on his shoulder.

"Kain, Senri, Takuma, you can head back to class I'll take it from here. And thank you for calling me." He said to the others with a small warm smile before he turned and took Sayo back towards the dorms. The three others stood there blinking in confusion, sure they got along better with Zero than the others but even they had never seen him smile before. They were utterly stunned and frozen in place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say I couldn't promise this wasn't cringe-worthy for a reason. Truth is I don't hate this story, I have just changed my writing style so much since I was in middle school that it's not very good quality anymore. I feel like I'm reading drunk ramblings half the time so I'm editing it as I post on here to make it a little more decent. I've decided I'll post the first four chapters on here and then wait to see if it's worth it for me to continue uploading or if I should take it down. Feel free to let me know your thoughts and opinions.


	3. Calming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to remind everyone this is a modern AU, so yes Tv's Netflix, phones and all the like are included. Oh, and I forgot to mention the classic disclaimer of I don't own VK, since this was a requested story I'll point out I don't own the OC either. Just the plot.

Calming

Zero walked back towards the dorms with the silent girl in his arms, though tears were still evident in crystal eyes Zero suspected they wouldn't stay long. "Sayo, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you like that. I promise it won't happen again, but if I ever need to leave for a job or something you know you are always allowed to come with me. Don't worry about the others, they won't do anything against you." He told her upon opening the doors to the dorms, Sayo nodded with a sigh of relief before resting her head in the crook of Zero's neck. He took her to where her room was set up previously. "This is your room, you don't have to worry about a roommate because I made sure you were alone, my room as just across the hall if you need anything. The others have rooms close by but don't worry too much about that. Why not go change into something more comfortable?" He suggested upon opening her door so she could see the setup. Sayo nodded and Zero gently put her down on the bed before making to leave the room and give her privacy. That however didn't happen as her hand grabbed his sleeve before he could leave. "Come on now, you don't want me standing here while you change do you? I'm right across the hall, as said before, I'm going to change too. Just knock on my door when you're finished." He told her before brushing away the hair from her eyes. Reluctantly Sayo nodded and let him go before turning to her bags and opening the zipper. while Zero left the room.

"Right across the hall, right?" She asked herself after she had changed into a pure white dress with a tan crop sweater, not bothering with shoes because it seemed unnatural unless she was going outside, Sayo padded softly out of her room to find Zero. Coming to the first door right across from her own she knocked, as was happy to find that Zero answered right away. He was dressed in old ripped blue jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt that had the top two buttons undone. Sayo was happy to see he wasn't dressed like some rich stuck up, she admired Zero's defiance and wished someday she could speak out and defend herself like he did. He smiled softly at her and reached out his hand to her which she took with more confidence than she had been showing most of the day.

"I bet you're at least a little hungry, should I make us something to eat in the kitchen downstairs?" He asked with a genuine smile as Sayo's eyes lit up at the thought. "I'll take that as a yes then." Zero chuckled leading her down the hall and down the stairs to the kitchen that no one used because the others didn't cook and Zero would avoid doing so around anyone but himself and on occasion the headmaster and Yuuki. The kitchen, as expected, as large with many supplies any cook could ever want. 'Rich people are so spoiled.' Zero thought as he picked up a few pans and set the burners on medium. "What would you like, I'm sure we can cook an array of things in this place." He asked looking over at Sayo who had perched herself on the counter so she could watch his every move. She shrugged slightly and looked at the pans. Zero smirked in return and pulled a cookbook from the shelf of a million and opened it next to her. "This should have something you would like, how about spaghetti with a side of caesar salad and a balsamic dressing?" He asked pointing to one of the pictures. Sayo nodded happily and Zero made a mental note in order to make it again sometime for her. After putting a tab in the book Zero got to work making noodles and washing the lettuce, he knew it would have to be chilled in the fridge for a few minutes before being served so he tasked Sayo with clearing a spot for the bowl to go. Unknowingly he made enough for the others of the night class and put it in a large serving bowl so they could serve themselves however much they wanted.

"Done." Sayo whispered just loud enough for Zero to hear, Zero turned to her with a soft smile and nodded before handing her the bowl to put in the fridge. She took it gingerly and placed it carefully before noticing he had already served some for the two of them.

"Well then, that should be everything, let's go eat. Do you want to set up in the garden or in the kitchen or where?" Zero asked when everything was finished and he had cleaned up the kitchen from the things he used to make the meal, he would finish the dished later.

"Garden." Sayo replied taking her plates from the counter and following Zero through the door and then through a glass sliding door out to a nice garden with fountains and flowers everywhere. "It's beautiful." She breathed looking around her with wide eyes. Zero hummed in agreement as he set his food down on a table and beckoned for Sayo to do the same. She obliged with a smile and enjoyed the solitude of the place with Zero, they ate in silence but it wasn't uncomfortable or strange to them. The silence to them was sweet and comforting, just knowing they were safe and unbothered by anyone else was enough for the two of them to be happy for an eternity it seemed. "Thank you, for dinner Zero." Sayo said with a light blush on her cheeks as the two of them cleaned their dishes and put them in their rightful places. Zero shrugged as he dried his hands and turned to look at her.

"Thank you for accompanying me to dinner." He replied causing Sayo to blush and smile back. Zero looked at her fondly and was glad she was comfortable around him, unlike everyone else it seemed, so she could smile and laugh a little. "Why don't we watch a movie or something in the living room? You can choose, I don't particularly care." He suggested pointing to the living room, Sayo took his hand and nodded blushing a light red. Zero nodded and took her to the cream-colored couch before taking the remote and flipping through channels before giving up and going to Netflix. Sayo smiled and folded her legs sideways as she leaned against Zero watching him scroll through the movies. She clutched his arm causing him to pause on a movie. The title was Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away. "This one?" Zero asked looking at Sayo, he couldn't say he was surprised when she nodded. He clicked play and put the remote on the table before moving so he was sitting along the couch with his head turned towards the tv, Sayo climbed between his legs and rested her head against his chest with a sigh of content as the movie started playing.

"Thank you." Sayo whispered as the movie neared it's ending she felt her eyes beginning close and wrapped her arms around Zero's neck before the last scene played and she slipped into a sweet sleep. Zero noticed her breathing increase and looked down to see closed eyes and a relaxed state. He sighed to himself and brushed his hand through her hair before turning off the tv and leaning his head back to look up at the ceiling.

'What the hell am I doing.' He asked himself closing his eyes for a brief moment as he heard the door to the dorms open. Deciding he would deal with it later, Zero looked back down to the girl in his lap and shook his head as he began to sit up.


	4. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It feels very ZeroxSayo at first but the beginning of a new relationship for Zero starts in this chapter as the ball has finally begun to roll.

Broken

"She seems to have you rather pinned where you are." Zero heard Kain say from the doorway of the living room area. Zero sighed in return and attempted to sit up without moving Sayo.

"I believe I'm more pinned to her than where I am." He replied looking over at the fire-haired male who had since walked inside the room and to the edge of the couch with an amused smile.

"I suppose you're right about that, but you don't seem to be bothered by that. So it seems even the great coldhearted Kiryuu has a soft caring side." Kain mused though he knew he was lucky if he didn't receive a punch for that remark. He was surprised when he heard soft laughter instead.

"So it seems that way. Of course, to a stoic like you even I look caring." Zero shot back with a smirk as lighthearted amethyst eyes looked directly into Kain's own. Kain had to stop himself from sputtering like an idiot at that rare sight and shook it off with a chuckle before he sat on the couch next to the silver-haired boy with a newfound interest in the other.

"If I'm such a stoic to make you look caring then whose more coldhearted?" Kain asked with an amused smile as Zero seemed to think on it for a second or two before coming up with his answer.

"Souen." He replied with a final tone and a nod causing the other to honestly laugh so hard he fell off the couch. Zero chuckled and looked over the edge to make sure the other wasn't hurt. "Okay I admit it was funny, but not that funny." He mused with glittering eyes as the other calmed down.

"No, no that was great. Who knew you were such a comedian Zero." Kain replied standing up and leaning over the couch to face the other. Zero smirked at him hearing the familiar name coming from the other that seemed to go unnoticed by Kain.

"Well, I suppose you do now." He said not losing his smirk in the process causing Kain to chuckle and ruffle the others hair, to witch Zero slapped his hand away in an attempt to fix it.

"Your hair is so soft, what do you do to it?" Kain asked upon running his hands through silk-like stands once again. Zero shrugged and let him do what he felt like.

"It's always been that way, which is kind of irritating, I don't care as much anymore but before it was almost traumatic when I had to get it cut. I don't know why it was such a big deal, it's just hair and it constantly grows." Zero mused causing Kain to look at him with an astonished look. Never before had Zero openly shared something of his past with anyone of the A class' student body. Kain didn't doubt he was the only one who knew anything of when Zero was younger aside from Yuuki and the headmaster, he felt a slight glow of honor to have this shared with him even if it was something like haircuts.

"Hair or not, it's a rarity for sure." Kain replied causing Zero to scoff in what sounded like amusement.

"Sensei never thought that way, if he were here he would probably call you crazy for saying things like that. Thing is, he has the longest most ratted wad of hair I've ever seen. It's more like a mass that just hangs down to his ass and for whatever reason I've never seen him with it cut any shorter." Zero mused even causing Kain to smile.

"Your sensei is always so serious about everything, does the guy even know how to not look like an intimidating I-don't-even-know what?" Kain asked thinking of the eldest hunter.

"I'm pretty sure my brother and I permanently wiped any trace of a smile off his face when we went through training. We caused him too many problems." Zero replied with an amused smile. Kain smirked at that and decided not to press any further on that specific subject.

"It doesn't seem like a very hard thing to accomplish the way he gets irritated so easily. I mean the first time I met the guy I thought he was going to kill everyone...including the headmaster." Kain chuckled looking at the girl.

"If it were legal...the headmaster would probably be dead by now." Zero replied almost too seriously, sending chills up Kain's spine at the thought. "But since it's not I think we're fine for now. I'm grateful he never had an interest in becoming part of the police force though, that would be terrifying." He added a second after. Kain nodded in agreement.

"Sayo is so shy around everyone else aside from you, that's not going to be easy since the academy is a fairly interactive place...also the fans can get pretty out of hand." The crimson eyed male commented off-topic from Zero's scary master.

"Yes that will be an interesting ordeal tomorrow I'm sure, I suppose that means I will have to attend class for at least a few weeks so she can get used to things...what a pain." Zero mumbled in reply picking up Sayo and laying her on the couch before draping a blanket over her to keep her warm as he turned his focus to Kain who was looking at him puzzled.

"Why is it that you hate coming to class so much? It seems as though you do all you can in order to skip out and go places we have no idea of." He asked watching as amethyst eyes avoided his own and found interest in the floor.

"It's not that I hate class or anything like that, actually I don't mind much about school in general since it comes pretty easily to me. I have a job to do and it's one that happens to be during school hours, the manager is...strict and if I miss then he gets pissed off. It's not a job I can afford to lose." Came the soft reply. Kain looked at him with sympathy. He knew Zero wasn't born into an extremely wealthy family as he and the other A Class students were.

'Without his family to help support him, no wonder he can't afford to lose his job. It's probably the only income he has coming in for him, knowing Zero he wouldn't want to live off of only the Headmaster...he doesn't like others taking care of him.' He thought running a hand through his hair. "I see, so if you attend class you're putting your job in jeopardy." Kain concluded, Zero nodded slightly in response looking over at Sayo.

"To tell you the truth, I don't mind doing it though, for her. Even if I do end up losing my job, I'm sure I can find another eventually and I have money saved so I will be fine for my high school years at least. I can pay for college myself and after that I will see what I have left." The silver-haired boy said brushing the hair out of Sayo's eyes.

'Zero sounds like he would put everything on the line for this girl, this proves he's nothing like how Ruka, Aido, Rima or even Kaname-sama perceive him to be. He's got a strong front for sure, but behind that is something totally different.' Kain thought looking fondly at his classmate that he really knew nothing about.

"Kain, thank you. For not hating me like some of the others do, I hope we can become closer as the days pass. I know I cause trouble, I'm sorry for any I might have caused you personally. Maybe sometime on a weekend or during break we can go out and do something. Talk over something more than a dark room and a sleeping girl." Zero chuckled looking at Kain with a sliver of hope. Kain was shocked into silence. He stared into Zero's eyes unabashedly, he could see the hope there but more than that he could see fragments of loneliness, helplessness, pain and hidden agony. He nodded to answer Zero's request but continued staring. Never would he have guessed the boy who was always so strong, rebellious, angry and plain terrifying could be so broken on the inside.


	5. Testing Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to add this chapter apparently so I'm adding it now, sorry if things didn't make sense because of the chunk of missing information. My sincerest apologies. This chapter is essentially Sayo snooping accidentally on a conversation by Aido and Kain

Testing Begins

Zero carefully stood and carried Sayo to the stairs and then to her room before laying her down and covering her with the blankets of her bed as he yawned and looked at the time. 'I suppose I should get going now...before the boss gets too pissed that I didn't show up at all.' He thought heading to his own room and grabbing his bag before jumping out the window in order to get to his job. As he did Kain noticed his presence leave the school campus just before the dorm leader came downstairs.

"Zero left, he had a job to get to." He announced looking at Kaname as he came down. The older nodded but then paused and looked at Kain quizzically.

"He told you?" He asked generally amazed the rebellious student would say anything to any of his "classmates".

"Yeah just before he left, I doubt he'll be back before morning but he said he would be in class tomorrow." Kain added, Kaname nodded and looked out the window signaling Kain's dismissal. The fire-haired male bowed and left heading to his own room shared with his cousin Aido.

"What do you think Akatsuki? I could try this on Kiryuu and see what happens! He deserves it after all, making so much trouble for dorm president Kuran." Aido said as his cousin opened the door with a smile. Kain blinked looking at the blonde who was holding a vile in his hand of some sort of purple liquid and shook his head.

"I think you should try it out on someone who couldn't kill you in less than five minutes." Came the reply accompanied by a sigh as Kain laid down on his bed.

"But that's no fun, don't you agree that Zero deserves it? You wouldn't go against the entire night class if you were actually a kind person, and Zero defies human morals to an extent unmatched. He's not human, there's no point in treating him like he's among our ranks here." Aido snapped hotly, he was prepared to do anything and everything against Zero.

"No I don't agree he deserves it or any other form of your degrading treatment. That goes for Ruka too, the two of you are impossible when it comes to decently treating others who are of lower status than yourselves." Kain replied with a dangerous edge to his voice telling Aido not to protest. The blonde stared in shock at his cousin, who left the room to shower, face paled considerably. It was no shock that is cousin was standing up for the boy, but that was the first time he had gotten so heated over Aido wanting to torment the boy.

'Maybe I was too quick in saying those things to Kain, but he should realize that Kiryuu is worse than the rest of us, always angry and threatening to hurt us when we come near him. Of corse for someone who has never seen that treatment I suppose it's a different perspective.' Aido thought but then came to the realization he was making Kain sound right. 'Kain is out of his mind, nothing would change the attitude of Kiryuu and how he treats others. He deserves what's coming to him.' He thought his devilish smile returning as he looked at the vile in his hand.

Unbeknownst to him, Sayo had been wandering in her room and found the conversation between Aido and his cousin intriguing. She figured that the blonde would be stupid enough to go ahead and do what he was planning on doing to Zero anyway despite the reaction of Kain to the idea or even proposal. 'I will tell Zero-san about it when he returns then, I hope the boss isn't too mad at him for being late to work.' She told herself before heading back to her own room and sitting on her bed in wait. She cracked her door enough so she could see if tat troublesome blonde would go into Zero's room at all. She wasn't about to let Zero become some test dummy for that guy.


	6. Cross Modeling Cooperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aido is planning some crazy shit and if you're surprised...well you shouldn't be because it's Aido Hanabusa. If you haven't noticed the relationship between Kain and Zero forming then I will wonder if you've read the last chapter or not...because I think it's pretty damn obvious at this point. Enjoy this next chapter, things are starting to heat up.

Cross Modeling Cooperation

Kain was well aware of Aido's "ability" to ignore all sense of reason when he thought there was a threat around, in this case that threat was named Kiryuu Zero, and he had an idea that whatever his idiot cousin was planning he would do. 'How irritating, as though he doesn't have a brain aside from his want to humiliate Zero.' He thought looking up at the ceiling of the room. Unable to sleep he decided to get up and wander around downstairs.

"Nn take that...stupid Zero..." Aido mumbled in his sleeping state, Kain rolled his eyes and walked out of the room.

'Speaking of...Zero is at work right? I wonder where he works?' He asked himself slipping downstairs and walking almost directly into Sayo. "Oh, I'm sorry." He said absentmindedly as the girl blushed and almost leaped a foot backward from him.

"N-no it's my fault for not looking where I was going. I'm sorry." She squeaked running past Kain and up to her room. A paper fell out of her pocket as she passed, Kain picked it up and would have called her back had the title not caught his eye.

' **Cross Modeling Cooperation, looking for someone to stand beside their most famous model! Zero Kiryuu strongly opposed to the idea of a partner!'** read the headline, Kain stood there, staring for a good minute or two to make sure he wasn't simply going insane. 'No, that really does say Cross Modeling Cooperation doesn't it...and they're looking for a partner for their most famous model...sounds interesting.' Thought the crimson-eyed student as he read more of the article. 'I don't need the money...or fame and all of that pointless shit, but a chance to model with Zero? It's worth a shot.' He told himself looking in a mirror, it was no simple rumor that the A class was made of beautiful people. Hell, three of them were models on the side, they were gorgeous and everyone knew it. "It shouldn't be too hard to out-model a few hundred people." Kain mumbled as he walked out the door to find where Zero was.

"Please Kiryuu-kun you have to work with us, the chairman will get irritated if you don't." A voice pleaded which was simply rewarded with a scoff.

"If I wanted a partner in this I would have asked for one, or rather agreed to the damn idea in the first place." He replied, Kain smirked as he heard the familiar cold sounding voice of his classmate.

"Would you be opposed to a partner if it was someone you knew?" Kain asked as he rounded the corner and leaned on the wall. The six people standing around Zero swarmed Kain in less than a second, commenting on everything about him.

"You certainly are something else, much better looking than most we've seen today." One of them started making a note on his pad.

"More like much better looking than everyone we've seen for the past week, where do you go to school kid and what's your name?" A second one asked getting out a pen and an identical pad of paper.

"Akatsuki Kain and I go to Cross Academy, in the same classes with Zero." Kain replied looking over at Zero who almost had a worried look on his face.

"Makes sense, you two are for sure in the same league." A third commented with a nod. "Let's run some trials, we can see how things will fit. Follow us please." He added a second later walking over towards Zero.

"Okay, Kiryuu-kun since you know this guy we're going to try him out next to you instead of separately as we've been doing." The fourth said nearly pushing Zero onto the steps in front of them.

"Alright, Akatsuki-kun if you would please stand behind Kiryuu and then...hmm let's see, Kiryuu why don't you sit down with your legs in front of you. Perfect, now bend the knee closest to Akatsuki-kun." Another one of the spoke up as Kain and Zero followed their directions.

"Let's have Kiryuu-kun, drape your arm over your bent knee to make it look better. Don't scowl at me like that, Akatsuki-kun now if you would please sit with your back against Kiryuu-kun's. Now both of you put an arm down to help with support...turn your chests towards us a bit...a bit more, there you go. I love it." The first one spoke again taking a camera off the table.

"Please both of you look natural. This isn't a competition of who can look the most fake." The fifth one said as she took up another camera with the other three and started taking pictures. Every once in awhile the would have the boys switch to a different position and then they would take a five-minute break to look at the pictures and discuss before moving on to the next set.

Zero sighed as he and Kain were handed glasses of water in the back room while the camera crew and a few more people that came around to assess Kain talked about the pictures and if they should offer him the position or not. "Something wrong?" Kain asked noticing Zero's distant look as the two sat in silence.

"Yes, the first being you being here trying out for a modeling job. Where the hell did you even find out about it?" Came the reply as sharp eyes looked up and directly into Kain's.

"Sayo helped me find out about it." He replied simply with a shrug, Zero raised an eyebrow as though asking more to the story.

"I have a hard time believing she spoke to you about it. So what did you do?" He asked crossing his arms as Kain smirked.

"Nothing, she dropped this out of her pocket and I picked it up and read the title. It got me interested." Kain explained taking out the article and handing it to Zero.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into Kain, leave while you have the chance...I can tell them that you couldn't do the job because of something else or whatever." Zero told him softly looking down at the paper.

"What are you talking about?" Kain asked, as far as he could tell the only trouble was the slightly back-breaking positions he was places in and the annoying blinding lights when the cameras went off constantly in your face. Before Zero got the chance to reply the doors burst open startling both boys into looking up.

"Good news Akatsuki-kun, we're giving you the position!" One of the camera people said with a large nearly sinister smile on their face. Zero paled and put a hand over his eyes, Kain's eyes grew wide as he found a whip being shoved in his hand and handcuffs in his other.

'What did I just get into?' He asked himself just before everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehh the more I re-read this fic the more I hate it, I'll finish posting it just because I fell the need to post something while I'm writing another fic but yikes forgive how bad this is, please.


	7. The First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know this technically doesn't have any warnings because it's a fairly tame fic compared to some, however I will say in this chapter there's some bondage and some technically consensual abuse but also not really. There's not an Archive category for that though so I'm doing it chapter by chapter. Other than that Kain and Zero's relationship grows more on Kain's end which you'll see and the main OC, Seij is introduced who kinda foreshadows some future problems that we'll get to.

The First Day

Once the lights came back on, Kain blinked and found some shades being put on his eyes to ease the brightness. 'What in the world is this? And why does my chest feel so tight?' he asked looking down to see a thick belt around his waist and tiny shorts. "What is going on here? Zero?" he called out looking around. There were sounds of muffled voices above him so Kain looked up and immediately stepped back in shock. Zero was suspended by leather straps, a black ball was shoved in his mouth and connected to a black strap behind his head keeping him from talking. His shirt had been stripped from him and his pants were exchanged for extreme skinny jeans. 'Well anyone who doesn't think Zero is attractive would sure as hell be turned the other direction looking at him now.' the older model thought shamelessly staring at the other.

"I'm glad you're ready, Kain-san, welcome to Cross Modeling Cooperation also known as CMC. Now as per usual we will go through a series of photos, some drawings and then finish with a video. Since you have never worked in a company such as this we figured you may be a little shocked at the content. Because of that we will have someone directing you what to do, as you keep doing this, things will get easier and easier and you won't need direction." the voice of one of the interviewers from before said as he stood off to the side with a smile on his face and a camera in his hands.

"I'll show you how things are done around here, then you can step in and take your rightful place." a new deep voice joined into the conversation. Kain turned to see a muscular man dressed in nothing but jeans and holding a horsewhip in his right hand with a container of some liquid in the other. Kain only nodded and stepped back as Zero was lowered down to the ground in front of them. Only up close could Kain see the many scars, bruises and marks from years of being in fights and no doubt doing things like this as well.

'What the actual hell is this?' Kain asked himself in shock as he watched the man whip the perfect causing him to strike different erotic poses. He wondered why the hell Zero was doing this in the first place, it's not like he seemed to be the type at all. 'Why are you really here?' the fire-wielding noble questioned silently. The cameramen swarmed around the two like flies to rotting flesh.

"Perfect Seij, why don't you switch equipment right now and we'll get a few shots of Zero while you change outfits." one of them said eventually.

"I'd love to." Seij replied heading off the set and into the changing room Kain remembered being in with Zero. Meanwhile said silver-haired perfect was let out of his bonds and was being instructed to pose in different ways. Eventually, Kain himself was thrust into Seij's former position, finding himself standing in a ripped shirt with Zero leaning against his chest dressed in skinny jeans and a tight shirt with a hoodie thrown over it.

"This certainly isn't something I would think you would be doing during school, what are you doing here?" Kain asked as they were given a short break.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." Zero replied.

"Try me." it was a challenge, both Kain and Zero knew it, the silver-haired model sighed and closed his eyes.

"Cross, the same loon that runs the academy, runs this cooperation. When he took me in all those years ago he started doing these photoshoot shit things. I was stupid to agree to it but I agreed nonetheless. They weren't like this before though, just simple modeling things that you see on everyday magazines and crap. It was when this association got involved that things started getting erotic to put it one way, it's called the Love Hunters Association or the LHA for short. By my understanding they forced Cross into not selling the company to them but contracted the models here to do as they say. So all these morons running around except you and I are from LHA." he started taking a break to let Kain soak in everything he was being told.

"So then why don't you quit?" the other eventually asked, if Zero didn't like something it was common knowledge he would do everything he could to ignore or get out of dealing with it. Kain was surprised this erotic modeling thing didn't cause Zero to back away and run.

"I can't, unlike the other models that came with me from CMC I wasn't signed to a simple year contract. I was signed to a...well basically a life contract. If I attempt to quit or leave they don't exactly go easy on me and those around me. And I still have to pay tuition and all that so I can't just stop working." Zero explained with a sigh. "That doesn't mean I won't walk away eventually, I will when I can, but I would need to pretty much be bought by someone for that to happen right now and no other company has the money that LHA wants for me to be signed over." he added.

"So then I assume going to someone is also out of the question?" Kain questioned watching as the one called Seij joined them during their break.

"So you two go to the same school eh? We didn't get much of an introduction time before, Yahuro Seij, it's a pleasure to meet you." he introduced himself holding a hand out to Kain with a kind smile.

"Akatsuki Kain, pleasure is mine, and yes Zero and I are something close to classmates." Kain replied not oblivious to the fact that Zero had gone very quiet as the other model approached the two.

"I think I'm going to get some water while you two get acquainted with each other." the silverette spoke out suddenly as he stood. Kain looked at him with slight confusion but Seij just nodded and the two watched the younger leave them. When Kain turned back to Seij he was met with cold, brutal, glaring eyes.

"You may have him for the moment, but I'll get Zero back. Silver Rose is mine, if you don't watch it then you'll become nothing but an empty slot for someone else to fill." he all but snarled as he too stood and walked back to the changing room leaving Kain to stare at him in shock and confusion.

'What the hell was that? His personality did a complete 360! And why does he think he _owns_ Zero anyway?!' Kain fumed in his head, normally he was dubbed for being one of the calmest out of the night class but at that moment he wanted nothing more than to just burn Seij and the whole cooperation down. "Zero's mine you asswipe. And I'll make sure you're the first one to know it." the fire-eyed model hissed lowly to no one before returning to his emotionlessly bored expression as Zero came back obviously looking around for Seij. "He went back to the changing room." Kain announced, taking note of how Zero visibly relaxed ever so slightly and nodded.

"Thankfully he's the only one here today...normally there are at least six other guys running around here doing different shoots with me or us I should say now, along with that there are a few girls too but their schedules are a bit different so we don't see them too much." the younger explained. Kain wondered, with a brief irritation and passing wish to murder, how many of the models were after Zero in the same way Seij was.

"I see..." he mumbled as the director walked back up to them with Seij in tow looking as innocent as ever.

"Time to get back to work boys! We have a few different outfits for you then it's on to our video for the day then you'll be done for today. Which reminds me, Kain-kun you will be given you full monthly schedule and contract by the end of the day isn't that exciting? We will love having you work on set with us!" he squealed not unlike the fangirls back at the academy.

'Wonderful...' Kain huffed in his mind but nodded to the man anyway. It was going to be a long first day for him.


	8. At First it was Only Interest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Same old establishing Zero and Kain'e relationship as well as a bit of discussion about a dinner date where it evolves into something more. There should be a "this chapter is too cheesy" category because this one definitely falls into that. I kind of hate the ending but I'm not going to change it for the sake of the story.

At First it was only Interest

As the two walked back towards the academy after their day at work Kain couldn't help but start asking questions. "So are those videos something you do often?" he started off noticing the deep blush that appeared on the silver-haired model's face. 'That's cute, it reaches the tips of his ears even...wait, cute?' he blinked wondering if that really was what he had just thought.

"Ah commercials like we did are pretty common yes, but there are a few occasions where the videos get...well more interactive between the models I guess you can say." came the hesitant reply. "It's been a long day, do you want something to eat once we get back? The others will probably be asleep judging by the sun rising but I can make us something quick and easy." he added racing to change the topic.

"You cook?" Kain raised an eyebrow, he had heard that Zero occasionally served dinner for Yuuki and the headmaster since neither of them could cook to save their lives from the rumors that went around but he didn't think Zero did it willingly.

"I do, I know it seems like some sort of girly thing to like doing but I find it something akin to relaxing. It was also the only way I could get away from Yuuki and the Headmaster when I lived with them, they weren't allowed in the kitchen otherwise we probably would have to evacuate the school. I learned to cook during my training and I found it useful ever since. What do you like?" he asked looking at Kain with what could be considered the most unguarded eyes the older had ever seen. It almost looked as though he was having a good time with him.

"Anything with rice as a side dish." he answered and noticed the amusement return to Zero's lips as he nodded.

"I can do that, rice is the easy part so what for a main? There's fish, there's tempura, angel hair pasta with a garlic butter sauce, hmm you can even make pizza go with rice...and soup...ah! How does carbonara and garlic breadsticks with a side of white rice and soy sauce sound?" he eventually concluded turning back to look at a blinking Kain.

"That sounds great but you know you don't have to go through all that trouble." all he was looking forward to was spending some extra time with the silverette after all, well and the rice too.

"I want to." Zero simply replied as the duo reached the gates and he started to pull open the door.

"Why?" the new model had to ask, after all it wasn't everyday Zero was so lax and accepting of anyone's presence.

"Because, Kain, you're the first one that's ever taken time to care that much genuinely. You don't pity me, I can see that in your eyes. I thank you for that, you make me feel less...lonely." even though his back was towards Kain, the older A class student could tell the younger was blushing from embarrassment as he quickly walked inside before Kain could say anything back.

'I think it's really me who should be thanking you, for trusting me, Zero.' he thought but said nothing out loud as he watched his interest, yes _his,_ move around the kitchen with a kind of grace to every step.

"Pasta is done, the rice still has a minute to go on it but I can bring that out in a second umm here's your plate." Zero announced snapping Kain out of his unknown musings on the male in front of him. He took the plate with a nod of thanks and made his way to the dining room where Zero soon brought him his rice as well before bringing out his own plate of food.

"Your cooking is something I've never tasted before Zero, it's incredible." Kain praised as they got further into their meal. Zero blushed slightly but smiled as he was unable to hide the feeling of happiness at the compliment.

"Thank you, but really this is nothing. I mean this is only because we should go to bed soon and didn't have very much time to do anything nicer...if you want sometime I could make you something more...top-notch? The models generally get free time on the weekends and often I've been corralled into going to Seij's place in order to make dinner." he explained looking back down into his meal, Kain couldn't keep his eyes from flaring at the thought and frowned.

"How about we go somewhere together, I could treat you since you've already done so much. There are a few good five-star restaurants around here I haven't had the time to try out. Would you accompany me, Zero?" he asked, changing the subject to curve his thoughts from his previous wish to murder the mentioned son of a bitch. The image of his precious Zero serving that asshole made his blood boil.

"If I didn't know better I'd say you were asking me out on a date Kain-san." Zero chuckled slightly taking a mouthful of rice in.

"And if I am?" Zero choked and struggled to swallow the food as he blinked owlishly at the man across from him. "Is it really so unbelievable?" Kain pressed.

"Why would you want to? I'm not exactly the dating type unless you've yet to hear the rumors floating around I don't know, half the damn country. You would only sour your reputation. And besides, how do you even know I'm into guys?" amethyst eyes narrowed ever so slightly as the questions were asked.

"I've heard the rumors around here, I'm hoping I can prove at least most of them wrong because I don't think you're anything like what people think you are around here. My reputation isn't a factor because I don't care about it so that's out of the way. If you weren't into guys you would have immediately rejected me, yet you thought up reasons around why I wouldn't want to date you as though you were thinking about saying yes but needed reassurance. Lastly, you started out as something of an interest to me Zero but even though we've shared a few conversations, a meal and something akin to an interview I can't help but want to learn more. The question is, will you trust me enough to let me see more of your caged and protected heart?" Kain tried his best to sound sure of himself and steady when he answered all of Zero's questions, he honestly didn't know if he had ever spoken so long in one go before and he was worried about the answer Zero had yet to give him. He wondered if the younger male could hear his heartbeat pounding over and over again and see the sweat he was desperately trying to get off his hands.

"I don't know what made you come to any of those conclusions, but maybe with some time and a few more dinners...we can...I don't know make this work?" he was hesitant and unsure, of course, hell it's not like he'd ever dated anyone before much less a guy but something in the back of his mind told him that he would regret it if he refused. That he would miss out on something that could change his life pattern of rejection, pain and loneliness if he said no and frankly, as tough as he claimed to be, the thought of that mortified Zero more than he'd let anyone ever find out.

"I'm glad you're willing to give it a try, to give us a try, Zero. Thank you." Kain was elated, he had no clue what to do from here but if there was anyone he'd throw himself into the fire and unknown for it would most definitely be the silver-haired model with more secrets than pounds of makeup on the faces of his fangirls. What started out as only an interest and a strive for friendship, sure turned out to be something he knew he wouldn't regret. He would protect Zero, make him happy, make him smile and damn it he would make everyone see just how much the silverette shined.


	9. Flames of Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get heated but not between Kain and Zero, rather Aido steps in and begins to cause a scene about his cousin's unknown love interest in front of him. No real warnings on this one, just some swearing.

Flames of Ice

Aido watched as yet again his cousin returned to the moon dorms with Kiryuu Zero beside him. No one understood what the hell was going on between the two but it had the younger blond on edge. Not only did his cousin start sticking up for the brat when Aido was going on one of his rants but he actually genuinely seemed as though he was, Satan forbid, enjoying the company of the silver-haired teen. 'No, he must be doing it to gain the guy's trust then break him. There can't be another reason for them being together so often. Kain wouldn't willingly hang out with him otherwise.' Aido tried to reason with himself but it wasn't working too well when he saw his cousin smile and chuckle at something the other had said over dinner. That was something else that had started up, that no one else understood, Kiryuu was actually cooking meals for Kain, the girl Sayo, and himself. They weren't simplistic things either! It was like he was turning into Kain's personal chef!

"He's staring again." Sayo whispered uncomfortably from where she, Zero and Kain were sitting. She had started to get used to the older student being around Zero and herself when they were in the dorms. Kain was one of the easier ones to get along with she found out quickly, and though he intimidated her a bit he wasn't ever outright cruel or teasing like some of the others were.

"I'm pretty sure that's a glare..." Zero lightly corrected taking a glance back at Aido whose eyes were burning a hole in the back of his neck, a not so recent development he found incredibly annoying but decided it wasn't worth the argument to confront him about it. Kain glanced over Zero's shoulder and raised an eyebrow at his cousin, he knew Aido's distaste for Zero just as everyone else did but it was getting on his nerves that his boyfriend was being glared at all the time by his cousin. Normally Kain would be constantly worrying over Aido, but now that he had Zero he realized even more how rude he could be.

"That's Aido for you. Ignore it as best you can Sayo, eventually he'll go find someone else to seethe at." he suggested turning back to the pasta in his plate.

"More like seethe with." Zero pointed out, gesturing to the other pair of eyes that were glaring in their direction though not as blatantly as Aido's. A quick glance revealed Ruka's burning eyes looking in their direction. Sayo didn't ever want to meet eye to eye with Ruka, she was terrifying plain and simple.

"That one is harder to ignore..." she agreed, with Ruka not only did you get the cold hatred but also the burning judgment of her staring. It was a wicked combination but it fit Ruka perfectly. Kain couldn't really help but to agree with the young girl, Ruka was something of a thorn in his side at times, but he knew he wouldn't ever be able to get close to changing her mind or making her see reason. Hopefully, at some point, he would have a chance with his cousin.

"Just do your best Sayo." he told her as Zero cleared their plates and headed off towards the kitchen to wash up, the other two quickly followed. "Tomorrow is the weekend, I was thinking about fulfilling that dinner I promised you a while ago Zero, I've looked at a few places but why don't you look at the menus to see if there is a certain specific place you want to go." he started when Sayo left to get her homework done for the weekend. Zero nodded, albeit hesitantly.

"You know you really don't have to do that for me, I didn't do anything to deserve it after all." he replied, Kain simply rolled his eyes. It had hit him in the face rather hard at how much Zero didn't see himself as worthy of positive attention.

"Well you don't take orders from anyone but Yagari so if I get on my knees and beg you would that work better?" the older vampire joked causing Zero to snort and try to hide the minor blush at that embarrassing image. Kain found that through humor he could get Zero to do pretty much whatever he asked, either that or he just embarrassed him enough until the younger gave in. Oh yes, he had Zero way more figured out than even Zero knew. 'No wonder Ichiru had it so easy when it came to getting Zero to do whatever he wanted.' he had always thought the older twin was too lenient of his younger brother's antics especially for the no-nonsense person Zero showed himself to be. But then again, Ichiru had Zero more than wrapped around his finger, and Kain could see why he kept it that way. The older was a lot softer, protective, he provided whatever Kain needed even if the noble said nothing to him. It was amazing how attentive to detail he was.

"I'm sure anywhere you pick will be too expensive anyway but I'll look through whatever you want me to if it gets you to shut up about it around Seij." Zero eventually verbally replied. Kain felt a small triumphant look come across his face at that. He had purposefully interjected in Zero and Seij's interactions at work, he wasn't the most possessive person but the other model had gotten on his nerves time and time again with making Zero visibly uncomfortable.

"It gets the jackass to leave you alone doesn't it? He's annoying everyone in the studio anyway, there's no reason not to shove his boastful attitude back in his face once in a while." Kain reasoned with a shrug that the silverette shot a halfhearted glare at.

"It's incredibly embarrassing! Besides, that's just how Seij is, I don't see a reason to make him more pissed off than he already gets." the younger mumbled looking away while he dried the dishes and put them on a rack.

"Do you think he's going to do something?" Kain asked seriously noticing how Zero rubbed over a spot on his arm that Seij had aggressively grabbed during one of their brief breaks between shoots. Zero shrugged but the small flash of uncertainty in his eyes left Kain wondering if there was something he didn't know about going on behind the scenes. Never let it be said Zero wasn't good at keeping secrets, even from those he held closest to him.

"Do you who is going to do something?" Aido's voice sounded from the doorway to the kitchen causing the other two to turn and Sayo to flinch violently and hide behind Zero.

"I don't see this conversation as any of your business." Zero answered narrowing his eyes at the intruding blond.

"If it has to do with where you're taking my cousin every night then yes I believe it is my business!" the other fumed.

"No it's not Hanabusa, and he's not taking my anywhere, I decided to go. I'm leaving him of my own will." Kain sighed, he figured Aido would confront them soon enough but he didn't think it would be so soon much less in a conversation about Seij.

"What has he brainwashed you or something Kain?! Are you going mad? This is Kiryuu we're talking about here! You've been around him day in and day out for absolutely no good reason! And what's this I hear about you going to get dinner with each other now huh? What are you doing Kiryuu, you going to poison him and leave my cousin for dead? Is that what you're scheming?!" Aido continued on, Zero turned to Sayo and motioned for her to leave the room, there was no way this would turn into a pleasant or civil conversation.

"Are you out of your mind Aido? Zero wouldn't do that and I know you're not truly dumb enough to believe he would! Jesus you talk as though he's some monster that is here to kill us all off and take over the world as an evil dictator! What do you actually know Aido? Aside from all your assumptions and false information what do you actually know?" Kain fired back stepping in front of Zero protectively.

"What?! You're accusing me of making him out to be a monster?! He is a monster, unkind, worthless thing and everyone else knows it apparently except you and scaredy-cat upstairs! What has gotten into you Kain, what happened to you!"

"I stopped listening to you and Ruka and all the other assholes that make up the school because guess what Aido, not every Satan damned rumor you hear is true! You need to wake up and open your eyes for fuck's sake! You're my cousin and I tolerate your constant anger but this is too much, Aido you need to realize you're wrong about people!" Zero stood off to the side watching wide-eyed as the two cousins fought with each other, Aido's shocked look towards Kain was only there for a minute before his seething got the best of him and he outright physically attacked Kain.


	10. The Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The physical fight between Aido and Kain, it's a very short chapter but I will try to make up for it.

The Fight

Kain couldn't remember the last time he had been so equally shocked and pissed off at his cousin. Blocking the fist that came his way and the kick after that he wondered if Aido had actually had some sort of sanity break. "Aido you have to stop this, fighting isn't going to do anything but rip you and Kain apart more!" Zero's voice sounded over the ringing in Kain's ear where the other had been able to land a punch. In all honesty, Aido and Kain were both pretty evenly matched when it came to hand to hand combat. Neither of them had all that much experience with it since Kain never fought and Aido was always held back by Kain from fighting with others so he wouldn't get hurt.

"What the hell do you know about it?! You're the one taking my cousin away from me you stupid son of a bitch! Don't start preaching like you can fix this when you're the piece of shit that started this entire mess! This is all your fault!" Aido shouted right back, turning his raging fists on Zero instead thankfully the model had surplus training and blocked most of the angry blond's attacks, but trying to talk to him through the fighting was making him falter every now and then.

"Aido! Stop before you hurt someone!" Kain shouted causing the blond to stop and turn towards the older of the two cousin's once again.

"You're telling _me_ to stop?! What in the world is wrong with you, sticking up for this bitch, doing whatever he wants when he asks you and _protecting_ him like he's something special when we all know he's NOTHING! He is nothing Kain! We have all known this since when he fucking joined us! STOP PLAYING AROUND WITH THIS **THING**!" Aido's screams reached the ears of the other A class students in and around the building, that included the dorm head of course. Zero, on the other hand, was just staring in deaf shock. Aido's accusations and insults no longer reaching him because of how wrapped up he became within the first few minutes of the fight going on. He snapped out of his trance-like state of shock when he saw the younger of the two pick up a closeby vase. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, Kain had closed his eyes with a hand over his head bracing for an impact that never came. The crashing of the vase and a soft gasp of pain brought him back to reality, opening his eyes to see his cousin standing across from him with a shocked expression on his face. Looking down he saw Zero's body, lying on the ground with a growing pool of blood coming from the open cuts on his arms and head.

'Zero!' His brain screamed though he made no sound, completely ignoring the sudden commotion of the other students, the dorm head ordering people to clear out and his cousin in the room the stoic dropped to his knees and carefully checked the younger male for a pulse. 'Please don't let him be dead.' he pleaded to whatever Satan damned deity he could think of. "Zero, Zero please answer me." He pleaded to the motionless body, pulling him up against his chest he was thankful to hear the shallow breathing coming from the silverette. He wasn't dead. Zero was alive. That meant he would be okay, he would be okay. 'But he still needs medical attention.' The logical side of Kain's brain decided to speak up for once. "Kaname-sama." He heard himself call out eventually, though he didn't raise to meet the other's eyes as he should have under any other circumstances.

"A nurse is already on their way, Kiryuu-kun will get the appropriate medical attention he needs I assure you. Now, if you don't mind telling me what happened to cause all of this commotion?" Kaname replied, though he realized Kain was probably not in the best state to talk about what had just transpired, and he could probably venture a fairly accurate guess himself, the dorm leader did need answers since he would need to report to Cross eventually on what happened. The mother hen of a headmaster would not be pleased, to say the least.

"You _really_ fucked up this time Aido, I hope Sayo-chan is alright, I doubt she didn't hear everything that just went down from her hiding place in her room." Rima sighed looking at the scene in front of her, she didn't pity the blond, he was going to get what he deserved for not only attacking another student but also disrupting Kaname-sama and the rest of the moon dorms. Still, there was something amiss with Aido's behavior. She knew he and Kiryuu never got along, that much was obvious, but never had he physically attacked like this. Much less use a vase to try and hurt his cousin? Something there really didn't add up, Aido cared deeply for Kain and not even he would let his rage get to the point of hurting him like that.

"Shut up." Was the only reply she received as she watched the younger cousin hang his head and everyone ushered out of the room while the nurse went in to check on Kiryuu and Kain. Kaname too stayed in the room with them as expected, and judging by the insistent voice outside the door, the headmaster had already been notified. It was going to be a long and painful evening, she was sure of that if nothing else.


	11. Protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the fight, and then a manhunt begins. On another note, when I started this fic I wasn't going to include the vampire/hunter societies but then I changed my mind on a whim and this is kind of the beginning of where you see the vampires be mentioned and come into play for the first time. This was before I was good at transitions so expect it to be rocky, to put it nicely, it's not good. Just to make this clear, in case it wasn't, I wrote this fic in 2015 and a lot has changed since then.

Protection

If there was one person you did not want to truly piss off on the campus of Cross Academy is was Headmaster Cross Kaien, not only was he basically the loony father of both Yuuki and Zero but he could most definitely deal a few fatal blows to any vampire who crossed him badly. Every vampire and hunter knew of his legendary power that was, for lack of better wording, non-existent when talking to the man on a regular basis; he was the vampire without fangs. At the moment, Cross was currently watching over the recovery of his son-like figure in the infirmary of the moon dorms while he listened in on the details Kaname was giving him of what had transpired. "Headmaster, while I don't believe it was all intentional and most likely done without serious thought, I'm positive that whatever punishment you decide Aido will take without complaint." The pureblood assured though his gaze was locked onto the form of the silver-haired hunter in the sickbed. It was a strange sight he had to admit, despite that he knew the teen was weaker than a noble he always figured Zero would be on the winning end against a fight. 'Then again, he wasn't fighting...' Kaname mentally sighed, really, he didn't understand what was going through Aido, Kain or Zero's head at all. Whatever the connection was it was it gave him a headache to think about.

"U-um!" A voice squeaked behind the two males causing both to turn and look at the embarrassed face of Sayo.

"Ah, Sayo-chan, come to pay us a visit hm?" Kaien smiled though Kaname could tell it was tight and fake.

"I-is Zero-san going to be alright?" She asked sounding pitifully scared and weak. Kaname took that as an opportunity to leave the two to watch over the silverette and talk. He did not wish to make Sayo more nervous than she already was, and besides he would need to inform Yuuki of what happened anyway.

"I bid you a good evening Cross-san." He announced, Sayo bowed as he walked out the infirmary door, passing by Kain he nodded to which the noble bowed his head out of respect. He would be staying to watch over the hunter as well, to make sure he would be alright.

"Yes, Sayo-chan, Zero will be fine he just got hit pretty hard in the head. Knowing his stubbornness he will wake again soon. I have no doubt he will be glad to see you when he does. Watch over him well for me will you?" The ex-hunter requested, Sayo nodded and a look of determination appeared on her face as well. Kaien couldn't help but smile at that, as he turned to leave however his eyes narrowed and his face became serious once again. Passing by Kain without a word and quickly exiting the infirmary no doubt to go find Aido. If the Headmaster was normally loud and obnoxious no one could tell from how deathly quiet he was as he stared ahead of him. While he would not physically hurt any of the vampires in his presence, he knew well that his aura spoke differently. Aido for sure knew that whatever was coming was not going to be good as he bowed to the man and followed the ex-hunter without protest.

"Aido's not going to come back easily after this. Not only will he have to endure the wrath of Cross-san, but surely Kaname-sama will not let him off so easy either." Rima stated dryly after the group of nobles in the common room watched Aido exit the moon dorms with a furious headmaster.

"As unlikely as it seems to be most of the time, this could be the first time Headmaster Cross will expel someone from the night class. Attacking a student, Kiryuu for that matter, does not come without a hefty price." Takuma agreed though his voice was quiet and his eyes looked downwards.

"On the flip side...though I never would have made friends with him, there's also the current vampire in the infirmary right now. How will he act once he wakes up? That is also of our concern." Ruka added from where she stood at the window.

"And...Kain...he isn't spared by this...by any means either." Shiki mumbled from the couch which caused the nobles to fall into a brief period of silence.

"Whatever the outcome of all this, we will need to keep an eye out for all of them I'm sure. Depending on Aido's disciplinary action that he receives and what will happen I'm sue it will not be an easy relationship to smooth back out even to where it was." Takuma eventually broke the pause as he stood and walked towards the infirmary doors. He had no clue of the details of what happened, but he hoped that Kain would be a little more open to sharing than anyone else was at the moment.

'I don't understand, what happened between us...even for Aido that reaction was too over the top, there has to be something behind it.' Kain sighed for the nth time that hour as he watched Zero from afar. He had yet to wake but according to the nurse he was going to heal quickly and would suffer nothing aside from maybe a headache when he opened his eyes again. Sensing someone coming in the door he looked over to see Takuma walk in with a kind but worried smile on his lips.

"How is he doing?" The blond asked with a glance over to the form of the silverette and the girl who watched over him from his bedside. "How are they both doing?" He added on in a whisper, knowing Sayo's response was doubtfully the best either concerning the situation.

"They say he should be up in a few hours, nothing more than a headache most likely. As for her? Distraught no doubt, but she's determined to stay by his side all night and day if she has to. She hasn't moved from his bedside since she got here over half an hour ago." Kain sighed and shook his head. He should be over there too right? He wanted to stay by Zero's side forever so why wasn't he by his side when the younger vampire needed him the most? When he was in his most vulnerable position.

"I'm not surprised, she seems very attached to Zero, like a little sister if you think about it. Seeing the one she admires for their strength so much out like that is probably scary." Takuma sympathized as he took a seat next to his childhood friend and long-time classmate. "I know you may not be up to sharing, but what exactly happened between Zero and Aido?" He asked, choosing his tone carefully as not to spark a negative reaction from the other vampire.

"We were talking, about going to dinner, Aido butted into the conversation like usual and started spewing his thoughts on Zero. None of which were pleasant as you probably heard. I defended him, and then Aido attacked me with a vase and Zero stepped in front before I got hit. Using himself a shield, a stupid thing to do, and now we're here." Kain summarized looking downcast once again at his hands.

"You think there was something else behind Aido's reaction." It was a statement, not a question. Takuma had always been too good at reading people sometimes.

"I'd like to think so, I just can't see Aido acting like that for almost no reason. It's not something he would do, even for his stupid and clearly not thought out decisions that was stupid. He knows it as much as we do too. I just don't understand what is happening." He replied shaking his head and running a hand through his hair.

"I see what you mean, I don't know of anyone he would be conversing without here that he would plot with against either you or Zero however." Takuma frowned, Kain shook his head, thinking back to his conversation with Zero before the whole ordeal had happened.

"We were talking about dinner plans...Zero eventually agreed to going out to dinner with me sometime soon, he said if it got me to shut up around Seij he would loo-Seij!" Kain suddenly stood with more fire in his eyes than Takuma had ever seen in his lifetime with the other noble.

"Seij?" He asked quietly, not wanting to break his friend by mentioning apparently the name of the devil.

"Yes, Seij, someone who would plot against us like no other. I've been intervening between Seij and Zero for a while now, if Aido happened to meet Seij somewhere and they got to talking it could easily get to us and plotting would be a promise without a doubt. I can't believe I didn't think of that snake earlier." Kain ground out through clenched teeth, his fists balled and Takuma was certain the room was growing hotter by the second. If the noble didn't calm soon something was going to set fire for sure.

"Then maybe we should confront this Seij person you know. And get some things straightened out, you know, have a small chat with him?" Takum suggested as he stood and smiled almost innocently though there was a hint of sinister intent behind normally kind eyes. He did not like to get violent, especially if he could avoid it, but if someone was manipulation members of the night class and a danger to the health and safety of his classmates he had no problem slicing a few problems in half.

"You want to some?" Kain raised an eyebrow slightly surprised, he didn't think of Takum as the violent type. The blond was more likely to solve problems with words over physical actions.

"It concerns the safety of the night class, and as the vice president it's part of my job to keep problems under control. Besides, I could use a better explanation for Aido's actions and this may save us a few future problems if we eliminate him now." The blond shrugged and turned to the door. Kain nodded and followed but then stopped and turned back around, walking to Zero's bedside he picked up the limp hand and kissed the back of it.

'Wait for me Zero, I promise I'll protect you from now on, so this never happens again.' He thought, as he tucked his hand back under the blankets and nodded to Sayo on his way out again. The girl smiled, slightly, and nodded back before getting back to her job of watching over Zero.

"It's like going on a mission isn't it?" Takuma smiled after the two walked out of the gates leading to Cross Academy.

"Yes, a mission to protect." Kain answered with a slight smirk, that was something he normally associated with the silverette perfect. 'But even protectors need to be protected once in a while.' He mused to himself before he and Takuma took off in search of Seij.


	12. Tracking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So it's been a minute, I generally didn't want this to be a vampire fic when I started and this transition, as I said previously, is still really rough. I apologize but things just happened and the switch needed to happen. With that, you might see the terms 'A Class' and 'Night Class' starting to be interchanged out of my habit of writing regular VK fics. If that gets confusing I apologize. I hope you enjoy this chapter (shit gets a little dark and someone dies) regardless and stay tuned for the next one to come. Only a couple more left! Thank you as always,  
> ~Len

Tracking

Kaname looked around, it seemed that his group of nobles was dwindling by the second. Aido was still with the headmaster, which Kaname long knew about, Zero was still in the infirmary with Sayo not that the pureblood could call either of them _his_ nobles per se. However, two of his nobles for sure, Takuma and Kain, had vanished without a trace as well. 'This is becoming a headache.' The pureblood groaned to himself. Anything that had to do with the silverette it seemed became something larger than life itself.

"Kaname-sama, is there something you need?" Seiren questioned, appearing behind him without being summoned.

"Track down Kain and Takuma, whatever they are doing don't get involved but do report everything you find back to me immediately." Kaname ordered with a light sigh, Seiren bowed and vanished in order to complete her task.

"Both Takuma and Kain are gone now as well? Where did they go?" Ruka questioned with a huff, she didn't like how everything was changing all of the sudden. 'All because of Aido and that level D.' She glared at no one as she stormed towards the infirmary. She had her own idea of what was going on between Kain and Kiryuu, she wanted them confirmed and she figured that even if Zero wasn't going to tell her she could get his little pet girl to spill everything she knew. "Sayo-chan, may I have a word with you?" She asked, almost politely, the girl hadn't really done anything after all. None of this was her fault. She also looked quite paranoid and pained standing over Kiryuu's bed as she was.

"Souen-san." Sayo nodded to her in greeting and bowed out of respect, she of course was terrified of the older noble no questions asked. And Zero wasn't able to help deflect the attention of the rude girl onto him as he had done in the past. "What can I do for you?" She asked quietly, she couldn't help but feel a little trapped, and now that Kain-san had also gone somewhere it was just her in the room with Ruka.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to know what you know. Nothing more nothing less." She replied though she tried to sound as non-hostile as possible towards the skittish girl.

"O-oh, alright, I don't know if I have all the information you want b-but I'll tell you what I do know. What information do you need from me?" Sayo whispered out, playing with the edge of the blanket covering Zero.

"What exactly is the relationship between Kain and Kiryuu?" The older noble pressed, her eyes narrowed slightly at the girl who seemed to be caught off guard at the question.

"I don't know all the intimate details, but they are in a limbo stage. Before everything happened with Aido-san I believe Kain-san was trying to convince Zero-sama to go to dinner with him somewhere...that's all I know between the two of them." Sayo answered carefully as she didn't want to imply anything more if the two vampires were not headed in the direction everyone else was assuming they were heading.

'I suppose I will have to ask Kain myself then for that bit of information, however even if that is the case no one knows about it yet.' Ruka sighed mentally, Kain wasn't the most secretive vampire she knew for sure but she had a feeling if Zero asked him he would keep everything quieter than death itself for his sake. Nodding to Sayo she turned and headed back up to the common room where the remaining nobles were waiting for Takuma and Kain's return to the moon dorms.

"Where are we? And where exactly are we going to find this Seij person?" Takuma questioned looking around at his surroundings, the place seemed pretty empty except the few people who were clearing out of a building up ahead of them.

"The building up ahead is where we're going, it's a modeling cooperation so to speak. It's formally called CMC or Cross Modeling Cooperation, but it's underhandedly controlled by something called the LHA. One hell of a group of people to say only a little. I learned about this place via Sayo, that new girl that hangs around Zero all the time? He works here which is why he's never in class, so I got a job here as well we're partners. Seij is the first guy I was introduced to after I got the job, he told me "Silver Rose" was his. Thus we haven't been on great terms since." Kain explained quickly, as he scanned the area around them just in case they were being watched.

"So that's why you're gone all the time now? You've been coming to work here for an erotic modeling company that's run by a few dozen snakes. On top of that you had to pick a fight with one of the top models from day one over the most desired male erotica model arguably alive today. That explains a lot." Takuma hummed to himself.

"How did you know that? About Zero's and Seij's model status that is." For whatever reason Kain wasn't surprised Takuma knew about the company, maybe it was because he was so involved with Shiki that he just naturally assumed the blond knew more than he was letting on about the modeling industry despite how clueless he could act.

"Senri and I talked about CMC once or twice when I bought the subscriptions, occasionally we still look through a few issues together but I never wished to confront Zero-kun about it. Despite his reputation on many sites and groups of being the most desired I believed it would be too embarrassing for him to know that we knew about him before he even came to the night class. I have to say I am surprised that Seij hasn't tried to kill you yet, he has something of a demon's reputation, I just didn't think we were talking about the same person until now." Takuma shrugged with a shy smile and scratched the back of his head lightly. He decided it would be best if he didn't tell Kain he had seen some pictures of him in the latest issue.

"I see." In an effort to change the subject Kain turned the corner and almost ran into someone. Takuma pulled him out of the way and was about to apologize then stopped dead in his tracks before crossing his arms as his eyes flashed with a warning. Looking up Kain found himself staring into similarly cold brutal eyes.

"Watch where you're going will you?" Seij, as he was recognized by both nobles, spat at them eyes already seething. Kain was about to retort with his own fiery remark but Takuma stepped in before he could make a sound.

"I assure you we would had you not be the one we were looking for. If you don't mind there are some questions I would like you to answer. Of course if you're not going to cooperate I assure you there will be consequences." The emerald-eyed noble began without hesitation. While he didn't necessarily wish to fight here and now, as slugfests weren't really his thing, he wouldn't mind putting a few marks on the model's appearance. Especially seeing as that was how he made his living. Seij however didn't look intimidated, Takuma expected that as he was simply an overconfident human. Unknowing of the vampire race.

"What are you trying to be? My mother? Last time I checked I didn't take orders from a wimpy looking stick like you." The model hissed back, he had dealt quite a bit of damage to many others before. This guy would doubtfully be any exception.

"I was trying to be nice and ask for your cooperation, but seeing as that is clearly futile...what do you think we should do Kain?" Takuma asked, though his smile looked innocent his aura was not, rather it was growing darker by the second. Preparing.

"I'm giving you one chance, Seij, answer me this. Did you recruit Hanabusa to start rashly picking fights or didn't you? You're the only one who could be behind his foolish behavior and because of that Zero's in the infirmary. Now tell me, what the fuck have you done." Control was supposed to be his best quality, fire was his ability and without control fire spreads and kills mercilessly. But right now, as Kain was staring into the eyes of the person who could be responsible for not only manipulating his cousin but also the root cause of harm for his to be mate, control was the furthest thing from his mind. What he wouldn't give to burn the asshole to the ground, that would solve all their immediate problems and maybe some future ones. No one would know what had happened, perks of being a vampire.

"Hanabusa...hmm does that name sound familiar to me? I don't know, but now that I think about it I did meet an angry little blond on the way home from work one day. Said something about going to the same school as Zero did, he didn't sound too happy about the apparent developing relationships surrounding my Silver Rose and his cousin. We talked a bit, he isn't very hard to read is he. It was even easier to plot with him, see here's the thing Kain, what you're doing is ruining my property. Zero is mine and he'll always belong to me. No matter what you think you're doing with him it won't work. You're not the first who has tried, nor will you be the last I'm sure as my Rose has a knack for attracting others, but you'll fail just as everyone else has. I control him, and he always comes back to me." Seij smirked, he knew well that he would have to end up dealing with the new model at some point as he did all other newbies that found himself attracted to what was his. However when the blond one started laughing he frowned with narrowed eyes. "Is there something funny I should be aware of?" He growled.

"Sorry sorry...but the idea that someone thinks they control Zero? That's the most absurd thing I've heard in a while!" Takuma chuckled as he tried to muffle his laughter least someone overhears them and check out what was happening. "I may not know Zero as well as either of you two but from what I do know, controlling him is well...to be frank it's quite impossible." He added on, while catching his breath. 'After all, not even Kaname-sama can control Zero-kun. And he's the pureblood prince of the vampires.' He thought to himself. Seij frowned, these two underestimated his influence on Zero, that was annoying, even more so was the fact that this pretty boy was laughing at him for God's sake.

"Shut up! You have know idea what I could do to him, hell you wouldn't even know before it was too late to do anything about it. Zero fears me, he won't disobey me, I could call him right now and he would come like a puppy on a leash!" He shouted, making the other stop and glare at him, there was something different about these two people. There was something more to them than just a pretty face. Seij was so distracted as he stared at Takuma, were his eyes getting darker or was it just the lack of lighting, he didn't see the fist until it connected with his jaw and sent him flying.

"He wouldn't come if you called him a hundred times. He doesn't answer to anyone, especially not you." Kain spat, his eyes blazing, Seij got up and shook his head slightly to shake off the unexpected impact. Eyes narrowed and fists clenched.

"You don't know anything!" He ran at Kain, he could fight after all, the auburn eyed model may have gotten the first hit in but it would be the last. He'd make sure of that.

"If what you say is true, and you really are what Zero fears more than anything then it's my job to make sure you never step back into his line of view. Ever. Again." He blocked the fist, with his hand, there was no reason for him to fight like a petty human. He was better than that, he was a vampire. And this thing was just like another level E that needed to be eliminated. Not only was he creating hardships for himself and Aido but Zero too. No, Zero out of all of them should be relieved from this thing's antics. Somewhere in a fuzzy haze he could hear Takuma calling for him to keep his control, that he shouldn't take it too far or they'd be going against Kaname's wishes for co-existence.

"What the fuck?! I'm burning! Someone help me! There's a monster!" Seij's shrieks fell on deaf ears, Kain couldn't help but relish the feeling of the seeing younger male's flesh melting, breaking in his hand. The smell of burning skin wasn't something he particularly enjoyed, but there had been worse smells in his life and he'd deal with it for the sake of keeping this manipulative snake away from his family.

"Kain! Get a hold of yourself!" Takuma's uncharacteristic shout sounded along with a firm slap to the face snapping the other noble from his more demonic trance. Ceasing the fire and watching as Seij's body fell at his feet and blinked and shook his head.

"Is he dead?" He questioned, voice stoic but his eyes were closed and he stepped back from the person. He quite literally just burned someone within inches of death if he didn't kill them on the spot. Those burns, even if they were to call an ambulance there'd be no saving that. Kain sighed, he'd never thought he could kill someone before, though vampires were known for doing so. What was he supposed to tell Zero? Surely the silverette would not take the news well, enemy or not the younger had morals he stood by. He did not kill others. What would he think of Kain after all this? Would he be scared of him? Call him a monster? Never want to touch him or be in his vicinity ever again? That would be worse than facing Kaname and the Headmaster's wrath twenty times over.

"Even if he's alive he won't be for long, no human can survive that. We might as well get back to the academy before Kaname-sama sends someone to find us, and before the Headmaster kills Aido for something that wasn't entirely his fault." Takuma advised, though his eyes didn't stray from the body, things like this were always so messy, no doubt this would hang over them for a while and maybe even come back to bite them in the future but for now they had to get back lest something else catastrophic happen while they were gone.

"I suppose you're right." Came the distant reply, and with that the two started walking back to the academy in silence. There was a lot on their minds after what had happened. 'Fire is dangerous, if there's no one to control it everything in its path will be burned to ashes. But how much control do I have if I can't keep myself from killing someone? Sure he wasn't innocent but even he shouldn't have had to die that way, fire burns, fire kills. It's uncontrollable, wild even. How long until it tries to hurt the ones closest to me?' Kain couldn't remember a time he had been so worried and scared of himself. He couldn't imagine what Zero would have felt had he been there watching. Suppressing a shudder he walked back through the gates of Cross and straight to the infirmary while Takuma went to track down the Kaname, the Headmaster and Aido to explain what all had been going on.

"Welcome back." Sayo greeted him with a slight nod, she had yet to move from her bedside position. Kain nodded back to her, not sure if he trusted his voice or not yet, and looked over Zero's body. Picking up the limp hand he felt relieved and more focused than he had been in the last forty or so minutes. Zero was still alive, he was breathing and had a pulse still. He hadn't been hurt by Kain, hadn't been touched by his fire or threatened by his lack of control. He was here, asleep but alive, silently the fire controlling noble vowed he would put all is effort into his control, he had to. For Zero's sake.


	13. Eyes Open

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is mainly filler with some fluff at the end, the cooling-off period if you will

Eyes Open

Kaien listened, though he was still not pleased with the situation, to Takuma and Kain explain what all they had found out on their search. Though they left out the small part of Kain killing the model and losing his control, Aido was sitting in the chair looking guilty and ashamed, Kain assumed he felt guilty for what he did and shamed because he wasn't strong enough to not sense the manipulation tactics that were being placed on him. With a sigh he laid a hand on Aido's shoulder, even with everything that had happened they were still cousins and it was part of Kain's job to look after Aido even with Zero in the picture. They still had not received any word of what the punishment would be for Aido harming Zero, likely it would not be light but Kain figured he would probably escape being expelled now that they had the entire story laid out on the table. "Very well, Aido I will leave your punishment up to Kaname-san, though I do hope you have learned something from this, conspiring with anyone in the hopes or intentions to harm another student is largely unacceptable on these grounds. I expect better from someone of the night class in the future, do your best to remember that as if there is a next time I will not be light in your punishment." Kaien eventually spoke from behind his desk, he was dead serious, making Aido gulp and nod only after once again apologizing for his actions. Kaien accepted the apology and dismissed the trio into Kaname's hands whom they still needed to report back to. The walk back was silent between the three, as expected, Kaname met them at the gates of the moon dorms and requested they follow him back to the infirmary.

"Is something wrong Kaname-sama?" Takuma asked partially for Kain and partially for himself, he knew the other noble would worry himself sick if there was something wrong with Zero and by the look on his face he could tell Kain was already thinking of worst-case scenarios.

"I assumed that, Kain, you would want to be in the room when Kiryuu-kun wakes. As for you Aido we still have some things to discuss. Takuma if you wish you may leave or stay after you explain what all you found out." Kaname replied walking into the infirmary and glancing over at Sayo who gave him a small shy and slightly wary bow.

"It should be almost time Kaname-sama." She whispered looking back over to her silver-haired friend still lying still on the sickbed. Kaname nodded and motioned for Aido and Takuma to follow him out, leaving the fire-wielder alone with Zero and Sayo. Hopefully that would prevent any negative reactions when the silverette woke up. But then again Zero wasn't predictable. Kain looked down and grabbed a hold of the hand that trusted him so much over the past few weeks, though they never talked about their relationship in technicalities the noble was fairly certain Zero wouldn't just run off with anyone. He had been lucky enough to ease himself inside some of Zero's rose vines without getting cut thus far, maybe once the other woke and was feeling up to it they could talk about taking things officially further between them.

'What will happen when he wakes up?' It had been a thought no doubt crossing a few minds aside from his own. Would Zero be traumatized by what Aido had done? He jumped in the line of fire, he knew what could happen and decided to do it anyway. What would Zero do next time he saw Aido? The two were never close per say, rather the complete opposite, but Kain couldn't imagine the silverette being scared of the small blond.

"You're thinking too hard about something." The voice was scratchy from being unused but it was clear, Kain didn't fully register the moment until he felt the hand he was holding grasp his own and he looked down to see slightly hazed lavender-amethyst eyes open and stare back into his own amber irises.

"You're awake." Kain stated, he couldn't help the smile that fell across his lips in relief. "I'm so glad you're awake." He breathed holding Zero's hand up to his lips and kissed it softly.

"You say that as though there was any doubt I would wake up?" Zero raised an elegant eyebrow but there was a small smirk in place as well.

"You had us worried for a bit." Sayo announced from the side of the bed, taking a seat on the edge next to Zero's legs. He gave her an assuring smile and nodded.

"I'll be alright, where is Aido?" He asked turning back to Kain. The noble in response froze momentarily.

"He's...talking with Kaname-sama I believe, but Zero I wanted to let you know that what he did wasn't fully his own doing and that really we fou-" Kain was cut off by a hand as Zero sat with slight difficulty as he was stiff from lying down for so long.

"I'm not mad at him Kain, and I'm aware that there was some foul play involved. Even though our relationship isn't the best I doubt Aido would be foolish enough to do this without being somehow manipulated. Regardless of his actions he shouldn't be punished too severely." The hunter interrupted running a hand through his hair and yawning.

"You're...not?" Sayo questioned with a blink. Zero shook his head in reply before looking back to Kain.

"Who was the one involved with Aido?" Kain dreaded the follow up that would come with telling Zero the answer, while he knew Seij was a threat the idea of telling the other he was killed by Kain wasn't something he wanted to put up with on any day. Yet he knew there was no way around telling Zero eventually. He just hoped the younger would forgive him, not look at him with eyes of disdain, or worse fear from here on out.

"We tracked it down to Seij, Takuma and I went to find out what all was happening before Headmaster Cross expelled Aido. As is now he's only going to be punished for his physical aggression by Kaname-sama, which could be fairly bad regardless, but he won't be thrown from the school or anything to that degree." Kain explained with a sight, Zero nodded and rested his head back against the wall.

"I had a feeling he would somehow be involved, while Seij may not be a threat in the world of vampires and hunters but he can be a persuasive manipulative bastard even without special abilities." Zero sighed and turned to look out the window, Kain wanted to reassure him he wouldn't have to worry about the other model anymore but then that would entail him telling of what happened once he and Takuma found him.

"Are you alright to get up? I'm sure Headmaster Cross would like to see you up and walking again." Sayo stepped in again, she didn't know what exactly was going on but she inferred that Kain wanted to stay away from the subject of Seij. Since she was in the room Zero wouldn't mention much of him, after their experience when they were children Seij was a subject they stayed away from.

"Are you sure about him getting up Sayo? Wouldn't it be better to not push it the first few hours of him waking up?" Kain questioned worriedly. Zero rolled his eyes and crossed his arms causing Sayo to giggle.

"I may have been out for a bit but I'm not made of glass." The silverette huffed before swinging his legs off the bed. Kain smiled, slightly, getting up as well and holding out a hand to the other. Zero took it with a look of thanks and leaned on the older slightly as they made their way out the door with Sayo on Zero's other side in case anything happened.

The first thing upon walking out of the infirmary the trio was greeted by Kaien, Kaname, Takuma and Aido. The latter two sharing a nervous look, Kaname stoic as ever but nodded to the silverette seeing as he was standing and Kaien threw himself practically on top of the two boys in excitement. "Zero! I'm so glad you're up and well and standing and walking! You're alright!" He squealed jumping up and down, immediately giving Zero a headache.

"Headmaster, maybe not the best time?' Sayo intervened once again in a quiet whisper. The ex-hunter immediately jumped back with a squeak and apologized. Zero just rolled his eyes and Kain remained stoic as usual.

"Kiryuu-kun, I don't know if you've been informed or not of what transpired in the whole leading up to Aido's unjustified actions. If not then I'm sure you'd like the details." Kaname started, giving the silverette a once over. Zero shook his head and lead his eyes over to Aido.

"I know it wasn't his complete fault, I've been told what was going on and I harbor no aggression towards Aido. Frankly, I believe it would be best to forget this incident ever happened, as for me I just want something to eat at the moment." He answered bringing his gaze back to Kain, who nodded slightly.

"How about that dinner I promised the other day then?" The noble suggested, Zero agreed and the others parted way for them to get back to the moon dorms.

"As long as you pick the place, and I get a shower." Kain snorted but nodded to the others conditions.

"I'm alright with that but I have one more question for you." He started earning those captivating eyes staring at him with innocent curiosity that could only be because of the anesthetics he had been under.

"What would that be?" Zero questioned turning to peel his shirt off and walk into the bathroom.

"Would you consider becoming official with me?" Had Zero not heard it straight from the other's mouth, he would have likely laughed out loud at the question. Instead he opened and closed his mouth a couple times before dumbly questioning back.

"Becoming official? You mean like a relationship?" Lavender-amethyst eyes were noticeably wider and innocent looking as he stared at Kain's nodding head for at least a minute. Leaving Kain to become more nervous than he arguably ever had been in his life. To have those eyes openly staring at him as the angelic model stood dumbstruck. He could feel Zero searching him, for what he didn't know exactly but he hoped it was nothing that would ruin his chances. Eventually those eyes found their way back to the present moment.

"Yes. I mean an official relationship. Zero, would you go out with me?" His mouth was dry and his hands sweaty as he awaited Zero's answer.

"Yes, I will go out with you Kain." A soft smile spread over his lips before he turned around to stalk into the bathroom. Before he could get through the door however a pair of arms enveloped him and pulled him backwards slightly. Turning around lilac-amethyst stared into burning amber. Kain stared back in awe as Zero's eyes captivated him once again, maybe it had been because he hadn't seen them in what felt like an eternity, he could stare into those eyes forever. Only then did he realize how scared he had been, terrified of the thought of those eyes never opening back up to his own. They didn't need to say anything more, just live in that moment for as long as possible.


	14. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sooo this is the last chapter and I wanted to preface this saying there's no smut, disappointing I know I'm sorry, I will be writing smut in the upcoming fic but it didn't seem to fit this portion. There's a surprise pairing in this chapter that absolutely got no attention through the fic but I didn't really care. At this point this fiction is kind of a throwaway for me so I don't particularly mind if this is a bit of a bs ending.

Confessions

Kain didn't expect to get away with murder, quite literally, though he dreaded every day he woke up and went to the modeling world with Zero and the annoying faced behind the camera. At first Zero seemed as though he'd never ask about Seij's random disappearance and Kain didn't know if he should feel better or worse about that, but of course eventually the question came up after work as they were on their way back to the academy. "You know, I was wondering a day ago or so, I never really found out what happened to Seij. The director said he was gone, he took up modeling elsewhere for personal reasons, but that's a bit hard to believe. Don't you think?" The silverette questioned though he didn't look over directly at Kain just yet.

"I suppose it is yes, frankly I'm just glad he's gone. He probably got kicked after everything went down. I'm sure there was someone watching how possessive and...wrong his actions were towards everyone around him, especially you." He replied after a short comfortable silence between the two.

"You're good a lot of things Kain, you know that right? More than just academics and modeling. But you're not good at lying, especially not to me, what happened the night you went to find Seij. And even if you don't tell me, I will eventually find out. However I'd rather hear it from you over a secondary source." Zero stated bluntly, turning his searing eyes onto the older male. Kain took a breath and sighed heavily, of course he couldn't fool Zero. He was an idiot for trying to in the first place.

"I will tell you, but I don't want you to be scared of me...because I'm not proud of what I did, I couldn't control myself and it's something I regret every day." He began as the duo stopped walking, Zero traced along the other's hand as he held it for silent comfort and support and nodded for Kain to continue. "Takuma and I came upon Seij, it was initially just to get him to confess. Maybe take him to Kaname for him to do whatever he wanted since he was a danger to you, Aido, and potentially everyone else in the A class. But when he started talking...the sick way he smiled and smirked every time he spoke about you. About who you were to him, and about how easy it was to use Aido to hurt you...I lost control. I don't even remember everything that I did, my mind went blank and all I could picture was making him pay for everything he did. Takuma eventually pulled me from the rage, and when he did Seij was alive but it wouldn't have been long enough for us to call anyone. I doubt he lived more than five minutes after we left." Kain closed his eyes, expecting to be yelled at, shoved away or for Zero to just turn and leave him there. He wouldn't have blamed him if he did, hell he would probably do that if he has some crazed guy standing next to him. However all he felt was arms circling his body, and familiar silver hair pressed under his nose.

"Thank you, for telling me, I'm sorry it was so hard on you." Zero's voice was soft and caring, there was even a tone of understanding and sympathy under it all. Kain didn't understand, he killed someone and yet the person of his dreams was still there. Still touching him, he was still there.

"I don't understand...I-you-I committed a crime, I _killed_ someone. Why are you here? Why aren't you angry at me?" There was so much, he realized, he didn't know about Zero still. It could take a long time for him to learn it all, he briefly wondered if he even could learn it all,

"Because, if I'm being truthful, had you not killed Seij...had you not gone out with Takuma to find him and get him to confess by whatever means necessary; I would have done it myself. This world is messy, we have right and we have wrong but they all become blurred at some point. What you did may have been wrong, yes, but you were protecting us and you came clean about it. That's why I'm not angry, that's why I'm still here. Now let's go home, it's been a long day and I still have that essay to write for class tomorrow." The silverette smiled and turned away, continuing to walk the familiar path back to their school, Kain walking beside him.

By the time the two reached the dorms another conversation topic had transpired. One that involved getting themselves out of the kinky modeling industry and back to living semi-normal lives. Of course, nothing was as easy as simply leaving. "How are we going to get out of CMC, no offense but I don't really want to stay around them anymore. And with your contract..." The older trailed off as they stepped inside Zero's room, Kain often spent more time there than his own shared room with Aido.

"I don't know, I want to leave, I've never liked it there...but I have no clue where to start on getting them to let me go. And with you in the picture, I doubt it'll be an easy transition." Zero sighed and fell onto the couch with his notebook in hand and textbook on the coffee table Kain had bought him out of the blue. Kain brought over two cups of tea and sat down on the floor in front of the loveseat and opened his own textbook, he was about to reach for a highlighter when he noticed an envelope sitting on the desk he was sure Zero forgot he owned most days.

"What's that?" He questioned picking the thin paper up and bringing it back to his boyfriend. Zero gave it a once over and shrugged, apparently uninterested that he would be getting mail from an unnamed source. Kain mentally facepalmed.

"Open it and find out, I don't know anyone who would be sending me mail though." Came the eventual reply though Zero still didn't look up from the book, not that Kain had expected him to. He had well learned how diligent of a worker Zero was when it came to academics, it wasn't much of a surprise he excelled in the A class. Taking a close by knife a and tearing the thing open Kain read over the letter that had been addressed to both him and Zero.

"It's from the company, they're letting us go." He announced, that caught Zero's attention and soon Kain found himself with the other practically in his lap trying to read over the black ink on the paper.

"I can't believe this, there has to be some sort of foul play involved. They'd never let us just leave like this...they never wanted me to leave in the first place..." He trailed off before there was a knock at his door, Zero raised an eyebrow while Kain went over and opened it to reveal Aido and Sayo in the hallway.

"Aido? Sayo-chan? What are you two doing here so late at night?" He asked but opened the door wider to let them both inside.

"I wanted to make sure you got the letter, a-and we have a bit of a confession to make..." Sayo began as Zero went to get more tea for the four of them.

"Alright so what's going on?" The silverette asked upon returning, motioning for the two to take a seat and make themselves comfortable. As expected Sayo sat herself on the couch and faced the two older boys, she had grown a lot more confident in the past couple of weeks and Zero was very proud of her for that. Aido on the other hand was far more reserved, he looked around the room as though he was lost until Kain quite literally sat him down in a nearby chair just to make him sit.

"Well first thing, I-I kinda went through your personal file and contract with CMC and I may have changed some things with Aido-san's help in order to make them let you guys go. I know they wouldn't have done so had we not intervened so I made it so your record states that you both were involved with the federal police as of recently. Aido-san went undercover as an agent and asked for your names. Apparently CMC has some not so underground operations that would get them in trouble if the government were to find out so they let you go and terminated your records. I'm sorry we went behind you back but I knew you didn't want to stay there and I didn't see another way for you to be let go without there being repercussions or blackmail!" Sayo rushed out in one breath, almost making her hard to understand at times. At the end of it however Zero simply blinked in slight astonishment that the two were able to pull off such an operation.

"You two could have gotten yourselves in a lot of trouble had they found out who you really were, you realize that right?" He eventually asked running a hand through his hair. The two nodded and Aido was about to speak up in defense for their actions but Kain shot him a look as Zero continued. "However, thank you, both of you. For everything you've done, it could have cost you a lot." Sayo smiled and Aido looked a bit more relieved, though there was still a nervous edge to his aura that wasn't ignored by his cousin.

"Aido, is there something more?" The older asked causing both Zero and Sayo to look over at him, the latter giving him a smile and nod of comfort and what Zero assumed to be assurance. With a raised eyebrow he glanced between the two of them, his mind connecting the dots before the blond ever opened his mouth.

"R-right, well, in working together Sayo-chan and I have found we think a lot alike...and uh we've started to seeeachotherinamoreromanticwayandsheskindofmygirlfriendpleasedontkillmeZero." Kain blinked, Zero snorted and Sayo giggled at the flush that was burning Aido's normally pale skin.

"Come again?" Kain requested, still confused and having not caught the last part of the...sentence if one could call it that. Zero rolled his eyes and turned to look at his own boyfriend.

"They're dating." He stated simply, as though it was expected. Kain opened and closed his mouth a couple times, trying to figure out what to say but once again Zero beat him to it. "Congratulations, to both of you, Aido if you hurt her I'll put a bullet through your brain." He smiled sweetly, too sweetly. Aido gulped and nodded nervously, Kain just chuckled.

"Well, now that this is all over I say we get some sleep. Sensei isn't going to go easy on us no matter what we do in our free time. We've spent most of the night talking anyway." The older eventually suggested, three nods accompanied soon by goodbyes from the two younger nobles and Kain and Zero were left to collapse into Zero's bed.

"Today has been a day filled with confessions it seems." The silver-haired teen sighed as he made himself comfortable against his boyfriend's chest. Something he got quite used to in a matter of days.

"Mhm it seems everyone had something on their mind to come clean about, so what confession are you making tonight?" Came the question as light fingers were run through soft silver locks.

"My confession? That's an easy one, my confession Akatsuki Kain is that I love you." Lilac-amethyst eyes poured into Kain's for a few moments before Zero turned and felt himself hugged close to his boyfriend's chest as he fell asleep. Leaving a partially shocked, but overjoyed Kain to stare at his resting face.

"I love you too, Kiryuu Zero." He mumbled, allowing himself to fall asleep soundly, by his angel's side.

Fin

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah....like I mentioned, not my best. Prologues are always a little hard for me to do, I don't really know why, even when I feel they're necessary I just don't write them very well. The next chapter will be coming soon, I can't say it won't be just as cringe-worthy.


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